Jesse Kline: A bigger surveillance state won't stop 'cyberbullying'

As a result of the revelations of the vast foreign and domestic surveillance programs run by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. Congress is at least trying to rein in some of the NSA’s powers. Unfortunately, despite all we know about the Canadian government’s involvement in the NSA’s mass surveillance programs, this country is moving in the opposite direction by making it easier for government officials to gather information about Canadians’ online activities.

Bill C-13, colloquially known as the cyberbullying bill, is currently being studied by a parliamentary committee. The term “cyberbullying,” however, is a bit of a misnomer. In a stunning display of political opportunism, the government has trotted out parents whose children have tragically taken their own lives after being bullied online. But nowhere in the bill do the words “cyber” or “bully” actually appear.

What the bill does do is outlaw the distribution of “an intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent to that conduct.” And fair enough: There is a good case to be made that the harm caused by so-called “revenge porn” warrants government action, even though it’s far from certain the proposed law would have done anything to deter or prevent the high-profile cases we’ve heard of in recent years.

But this is essentially the extent to which the bill has anything to do with children harassing each other over the Internet. The rest of it is largely a rehash of the government’s lawful access legislation — the one that was supposedly targeted at child pornographers, and which Canadians vehemently rejected because it was a serious threat to privacy.

Much of Bill C-13 deals with how and when government officials can seek a court order to obtain personal information about Internet users from telecommunication companies. For this, it sets a pretty low bar: All a government agent would need is “reasonable grounds for suspicion” that someone is doing something illegal. Even worse, the bill would give Internet or cellular providers legal immunity from any criminal or civil charges that result from the times when they hand over information without a warrant.

Related

We have not seen the same type of public opposition to C-13 as that previous “lawful access” bill. But there have been some unlikely critics of the bill. Carol Todd — whose 15-year old daughter Amanda Todd killed herself after suffering harassment stemming from an incident in which she revealed her breasts on a webcam — publicly spoke out against the bill in front of a parliamentary committee earlier this month. “We should not have to choose between our privacy and our safety,” she said. “We should not have to sacrifice our children’s privacy rights to make them safe from cyberbullying, ‘sextortion’ and revenge pornography.”

Justice Minister Peter MacKay’s response to such criticism was downright creepy, in a Nineteen Eighty-Four meets Minority Report sort of way: “The reality is that this bill is aimed at enabling police to more actively pursue online investigations for cyberbullying, but for other forms of cybercrime … And without that ability to pre-emptively prevent online crime we will not be able to save the lives of people like Amanda Todd, Rehtaeh Parsons and others.” (Emphasis added.)

When the Canadian public, parents of victims of cyberbullying, privacy commissioners and former cabinet ministers all voice serious concerns about a bill, it is a sure sign that something is wrong

At least the government is now admitting that the bill isn’t just about cyberbullying. But what is proposed is deeply troubling. Even Mr. MacKay’s former cabinet colleague Stockwell Day called the bill a threat to privacy and freedom of speech, arguing that legislation needs to be “crystal clear on the aspect of police, what data they could have … without some kind of warrant procedure.”

“I’m hoping that all MPs … take a serious look at how we can maintain certain rights to speech and freedom of expression even when it’s unpleasant,” Mr. Day told CBC’s Power & Politics. “I’m hoping they take another look at this and kind of curtail some of those powers.”

When the Canadian public, parents of victims of cyberbullying, privacy commissioners and former cabinet ministers all voice serious concerns about a bill, it is a sure sign that something is wrong, and the government should listen. Instead of beefing-up the surveillance state, we need to have a serious national conversation about what limits should be placed on it.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.